Photos
Lise Delamare
- La marquise
- (as Lise Delamare de la Comédie Française)
Gérard Hoffman
- Le directeur de la prison
- (as Gérard Hoffmann)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGeneviève Thénier's debut.
Featured review
offbeat spy thriller
In France,Charles Gérard is known as an actor who's not particular about details.A cursory look at his filmography shows that his movies are mainly typically French comedies ,McDonald quality.
What about the director? Much to my surprise,the director shows qualities that are not obvious at all when he is acting."L'ennemi dans l'ombre" is an offbeat French thriller,which ,in spite of the paucity of the budget -the old record player ,which is used for the secret messages ,takes the biscuit!-,manages to convey a strange poetry ,with scenes which we do not generally find in the genre : the wedding,which seems (is it true?) dreamlike ;the flashback about the dead man ,which will gain in importance at the end ;a visit to a prisoner in jail,at night;a marchioness whose disposable funds are low and who helps "the organization".
The hero and his boss always refer to the villains as "the organization" ,and without the final unexpected twist,the story would have been as abstract as "parallax view" (the two movies are not in the same league though:Gérard is not Pakula).Roger Hanin plays the hero ,a hero with frames of mind and regrets (don't we learn he used to want to be a teacher).Female part is played by Estella Blain,a beautiful actress who committed suicide in 1982:she displays sensitivity and frailness.Bernard Blier plays a French "M".
We can draw a parallel between Gérard and Robert Hossein.Both were directors and actors,both made thrillers in the first years of their career .But Hossein easily outclasses his colleague,mainly as an actor.
What about the director? Much to my surprise,the director shows qualities that are not obvious at all when he is acting."L'ennemi dans l'ombre" is an offbeat French thriller,which ,in spite of the paucity of the budget -the old record player ,which is used for the secret messages ,takes the biscuit!-,manages to convey a strange poetry ,with scenes which we do not generally find in the genre : the wedding,which seems (is it true?) dreamlike ;the flashback about the dead man ,which will gain in importance at the end ;a visit to a prisoner in jail,at night;a marchioness whose disposable funds are low and who helps "the organization".
The hero and his boss always refer to the villains as "the organization" ,and without the final unexpected twist,the story would have been as abstract as "parallax view" (the two movies are not in the same league though:Gérard is not Pakula).Roger Hanin plays the hero ,a hero with frames of mind and regrets (don't we learn he used to want to be a teacher).Female part is played by Estella Blain,a beautiful actress who committed suicide in 1982:she displays sensitivity and frailness.Bernard Blier plays a French "M".
We can draw a parallel between Gérard and Robert Hossein.Both were directors and actors,both made thrillers in the first years of their career .But Hossein easily outclasses his colleague,mainly as an actor.
helpful•20
- dbdumonteil
- Jul 12, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Enemy in the Shadows
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content